


brighter than a thousand suns

by janie_tangerine



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: (sort of), Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, Comics/Movie Crossover, Electricity, Everyone Needs A Hug, Explicit Sexual Content, Fix-It, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, M/M, Multi, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Rough Sex, Sibling Incest, Steve Rogers & Thor Friendship, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug, Thunderstorms, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, and since the author is a sap they get way beyond it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-07
Updated: 2018-05-07
Packaged: 2019-05-03 06:31:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14563020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/janie_tangerine/pseuds/janie_tangerine
Summary: *INFINITY WAR SPOILERS*---In which Strange has a back-up plan and Loki gets a second chance.(Also: in which both Thor and Loki *and* Steve and Bucky get thereunionthey deserved.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi. I had a bunch of other things to do, then I watched IW and I decided I had to fix that ending because WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT NO I'M NOT OVER IT HAVE FUN. I'm gonna keep the spoilers to a minimum in here but like guys: it's post-movie. It's choke-full of spoilers. Enter at your own risk.
> 
> Other than that: as it was probably obvious after Ragnarok dragged me into the thunderfrost garbage can of doom this damned movie actually made me write it so hey HELLO I HAVE A SORTA PROBLEMATIC SHIP NOW HOW GREAT, but since the stevebucky part of it also wanted to happen I figured I'd just go and separate things, so: chapter one is the gen fix-it that stands on its own and you can read it no problem if you don't care for the ships. Chapter two is the Thor/Loki porn, chapter three is the Steve/Bucky porn. Feel free to skip and choose at will, one stands on its own and two and three can be read without the other. :D
> 
> Also: my version of the fixit is basically 'go with what tom hiddleston says in the press tour which is coincidentally the same stuff you theorized just out of the cinema plus throw in some comic book canon that makes no sense in the MCU but who cares'. (Spoilers: the comics tesseract is *not* the movies tesseract. I DO WHAT I WANT.)
> 
> Other than that, another of the commissions I had will be IW fix-it so see you when it happens. For the rest, I'll go back to do that now and - just have the fluff. I HAD TO.
> 
> And obviously: EVERYTHING BELONGS TO DISNEY/MARVEL/WHOEVER and the title is from iron maiden. And that said, I'll just drop this here and run. *saunters back downwards*

 

0

 

 _One_ future.

 _What great odds_ , Stephen thinks as he considers his options, _their_ options, the universe’s options, and goes through the entire show all over again.

But no.

 _One_. It’s always one. That same one. And fine, it _could_ work, it _might_ work, but it’s a very risky gamble and he doesn’t know if he wants to trust that things will go _exactly like that_ , especially if he’s not there to make sure they happen.

Unless -

 _Unless_ , he gives time a little nudge and he _makes_ another himself. Which would be risky as well, mind it, but - it’d be a backup plan, and it’s either that or none, and no one guarantees him that things will go as planned or as _that_ one future foresees, and what if they _don’t_?

And considering that in order for things to work out he has to _die_ in that future, what if he’s not here to make sure he and everyone else come back?

No. No, he needs the back-up plan, and he needs someone else who can use magic to be part of it, otherwise _nothing_ can work, and from what he sees there’s just one viable option he has and it’s hardly ideal, but the universe is at stake.

He can deal with _hardly ideal_. It’s still better than none.

Stephen Strange can hear the others getting worried, but it’s not the right moment.

He tunes them out, focuses, _focuses_ , and green flashes in front of his eyes as he goes _back_.

 

1.

 

Loki slips the Tesseract inside his cloak before he can think twice about it - it’d be a waste to let it be destroyed along with Asgard, and as far as _what to do with it_ , well, he shall see when it’s time - and then he proceeds on looking for Surfur’s damned crown. He doesn’t have much time left and he cannot afford to waste much more, especially if he doesn’t want to die along with the crown. Right, he _could_ use the Tesseract to -

“Loki,” he hears all of a sudden, and a moment later he’s face to face with that Midgardian sorcerer who _made him fall for thirty bloody minutes_ , damn him and -

“How are you _here_?” Loki spits, not feeling particularly inclined to chat with the man - he’s on borrowed time already.

“That’s not the matter,” the man replies, hurried, as if he hates that he’s talking to _him_ in the first bloody place. “I’m here _because_ the universe as we know it is about to end, and _you_ and your people and half of its population along with it, and maybe _you_ can do something about it, as much as I’m loathe to admit it,” the sorcerer says, and before Loki can do anything to stop him or ask for more explanation, the man slams his hand against Loki’s forehead and -

 

 

 _And_ -

_The crown is gone and Surfur’s back and Loki’s opened a portal with the Tesseract so he can slip away and on the ship, unnoticed, and then they’re leaving and they’re in space and -_

_“If you were real, I’d give you a hug -”_

_“I_ am _here -”_

_Thor’s hands on his arms and on his waist dragging him closer and -_

I missed this _, he thinks in spite of himself, and then -_

 _He’s not so sure about Thor’s plans for going to Earth, but it’s not as if they have much better choices and_ now _he doesn’t think he wants to be apart from him, not now -_

 _But then there’s_ that _ship and Loki recognizes it at once and it’s_ Thanos _and no, nononononono_ not _him, not_ him _out of everyone, he can feel his head hurt just_ thinking _of it and of how he fell that first time and then there’s just noise and_ blood _and crunched bones and severed limbs and Heimdall’s dying and the Hulk’s useless even if he_ tries _and Thor’s screaming and -_

You suffered too much for me already - _he thinks, and there’s no way they’ll win, there’s no way, but maybe he can do something, he can, he_ can _-_

_“The sun will shine on us again -”_

_“You will_ never _be a god -”_

 _And then he hears Thor scream as a hand closes around his neck and oh,_ oh, _so that’s how it feels to die for real?_

_And then there’s nothing but then there’s Thor floating into space and finding others who take him in and -_

What more do I have to lose?, _he asks, his voice so pained that Loki wants to retch because_ after everything he still -

(Of course he does, _of course he does_ -)

_He sees the mad oaf putting himself in the middle of a damned blazing supernova just to forge himself an axe and then he’s not there anymore but on Earth and Thanos is there and he can feel all the rage bubbling up inside Thor as he hits him in the chest while thinking about Loki’s last rasping, dying breath -_

You should have gone for the head -

 _And then there’s nothing else because the world’s turning to ashes, half of the universe is turning into ashes, along with Strange as well, and it was uselessuseless_ useless _-_

 

 

Loki’s back to himself a moment later, Strange’s hand immediately leaving his forehead as if it burned.

“Oh,” he says, and it sounds like the worst kind of understatement.

“Yes, _oh_ ,” Strange huffs. “I cannot stay any longer. I need to go back now, this has been as long as it could be. Now you _know_ , and you know I’ve seen _that_ one future, but I don’t trust it. Now, however this goes, I _die_ before I come back, and I cannot - take care of anything. You’re a sorcerer, too, and you know magic. You _can_ do something, or you _could_. And remember that whichever way it goes, if we want to win Thanos has to get _all_ those stones, so don't try to destroy any of them before the due time. And now - put your magic to use, I’ve done everything I could,” he says, and then disappears with a grimace on his face.

For a moment, Loki cannot move. He has seen everything, Strange made him see everything, but more than the crunching of bones and severed limbs and blood everywhere and the feeling of utter defeat that had taken him before he tried to stab Thanos in a completely bloody useless way, he can’t help feeling pain in his chest just thinking of how Thor sounded as he _died_ and -

 _He said he was ready for us to part ways on that elevator,_ he thinks, _and he sounded so sure, but if he suffered so much for it_ -

He shakes his head and tries to focus. That’s - not the point.

Later. For later. Now, he _does_ have a bit of time still and he’s in Odin’s vault and his - _father_ , or not-father, _did_ have a fine collection of artifacts. Maybe there’s _something_ that he could find useful to come up with a proper plan, because he’s _not_ putting the Tesseract back - never mind that it could be useful, nothing says it _would_ be destroyed along with Asgard _and_ it was obvious from what Strange showed him that _the other_ future, the one that might work out if _he_ fails, needs for Thanos to have the real infinity stone, not a fake.

So, not a fake stone. Something else. The Tesseract cannot help for _this_ , damn it, and never mind Strange's warning, he’s not destroying it - if it means some people will stay dead, well, there have to be casualties in every circumstance now, shouldn’t they? He’s not putting it back in its place and bet that it would get destroyed out of wanting to just save people especially if it _doesn’t_ get destroyed and Thanos gets it anyway as it floats into space. No, no, there has to be another option. He looks around quickly, hurriedly, _angrily_ -

Until he sees a small dent in the wall, as if to hide a secret compartment _._

He runs there and puts a finger underneath the dent, pushing, and - he was right. A small section of the wall comes down, revealing indeed a secret unit hidden in the wall, and the moment he sees what’s inside it -

 _Oh_.

 _Right_. He had no idea _this_ was in Odin’s vault, but then again, why should he be surprised? Of course it is. And of course it’s _hidden._ He can entirely understand why it would be.

Well then. With the Tesseract, _until he has it_ , and _this_ -

Maybe it might work. He needs to think his plan through, though, and he has no time now - Asgard needs to perish, first, and good riddance to it, even if he knows he’ll miss it, as much as he’s loathe to admit it.

He’s out of time. He reaches for the farthest corner of the vault, pockets what’s under the sturdy glass covering it, and heads for Surfur’s blasted helmet.

Hopefully, it will work out.

If not -

 _If you were really here, I’d give you a hug_.

He thinks - he thinks he will commit that to memory, when it happens.

 

2.

 

For a long moment, it feels like time has just come to a stand still. Steve is sitting on the ground and _staring_ at the pile of ash at his feet as if he cannot make sense of it, but then again, maybe he can’t.

“Not again,” he had said just once, as soon as it happened, before he just stopped talking and moving and just _stared_. Bruce is the only one out of them who seems to have the strength to move in the first place - he’s trying to get out of his red and gold armor, cursing under his breath. Good thing one of them can move.

Then, nothing. Not even the Rocket is moving - he’s leaning against Steve’s leg, looking completely destroyed, and of course he would be.

Thor can understand Steve even too well - he knows what Sergeant Barnes meant to him. They _had_ spent their amount of nights talking about it back when they were taking Hydra down, when they both couldn’t sleep and couldn’t get drunk and they somehow found each other either outside a compound or in Stark Tower, looking out of the window. Steve told him about how he lost and found and lost Bucky all over again, Thor had told him about Loki and about how much he loathed how he couldn’t know how to trust him since the Tesseract when he had _wanted_ to with all his might and then he had to go and die in front of him _twice_. Steve had been sympathetic, understanding, even too much, and Thor had understood his plight as well, and they had drunk Midgardian beer that neither of them even liked and that to him tasted like water, but still, that wasn’t the point.

“One day you should try Asgardian mead,” he had told Steve once. “It can get _me_ drunk, maybe it would work for you.”

“I would be glad to,” Steve had replied, softly, as they clinked their bottles together.

He had meant it. Wholeheartedly.

Too bad that there’s no Asgard anymore, nor its mead. And look at _that_ , while everyone around them has just seen someone they loved die in front of them, he and Steve are the only two who saw them die in front of their own eyes _twice_ and he doubts there’s coming back from it for any of them.

They failed.

Simple as that.

They _failed_.

He should have aimed for the damned head, he thinks, wanting to cry and yet unable to even bring himself to do so. He just stands still until his legs give out - same as Steve’s did, probably - and he crumples to the ground just as Bruce climbs out of the armor and moves in behind them, putting a hand on his shoulder and one on Rocket’s, saying nothing, because what is there to say, other than -

“I’m sorry,” Thor says, quietly.

“Nothin’ you could’ve prevented,” Rocket sighs. “I wouldn’t have gone for the head, either.”

Steve’s fist is closed, ash flying away from inside it anyhow.

“Not _again_ ,” he says, his voice broken in ways Thor can’t remember hearing but that he can wholly imagine, because Steve sounds as desperate as _he_ feels, himself.

He wants to say something, he _wants_ to, but he _can’t_ , because there’s nothing he can think of that might make _anyone_ feel better here. Natasha is walking around the compound, calling for Sam Wilson along with Colonel Rhodes, Thor can faintly hear him from somewhere behind them.

Bruce kneels down, wincing as he does, and Steve lets his head fall against his shoulder almost gratefully, and Thor is almost in mind of doing the same for how _tired_ he feels -

And then there’s a flash of white light in front of them and he’s immediately on his feet, giving Steve a hand to help him up -

And then the light is _gone_ and for a moment he cannot see anything, and then he blinks, and -

“Well,” a voice he never thought he’d hear again if not in Valhalla, and _is he making this up? Has he finally gone insane?_ , “Seems like you lost, didn’t you?”

A moment later, the light clears and _Loki_ out of all people is in front of him, and -

No.

No, he’s _dead_.

Thor saw him die, he saw Thanos snap his neck, he felt his dead body under his fingers, he held it in his arms as the ship exploded, he wept over it in those few moments he had before he was blasted into space -

“ _Loki_?” Steve blurts, sounding more surprised than else, so - so Thor is not hallucinating him. At least _that_.

“Captain,” Loki replies, almost amiably. “Banner,” he says, nodding at Bruce, who’s _nodding back_ , though surprised himself, and - what -

He turns to look at Thor.

“Brother, don’t look _that_ surprised. If it consoles you, I _did_ die for real, the first time.”

“The - the _first time_?”

Loki shakes his head and moves closer. Thor can’t bear to raise his hand to touch him, lest he finds out that this is indeed all some hallucination he’s conjuring because he just cannot deal with the prospect of having _really_ lost everything.

“Right,” Loki says, “this is - very convoluted, but you _need_ to hear me out.”

“I’d hear _anyone_ out if it meant a way out of this - _this_ ,” Steve says.

“Your sorcerer friend,” Loki says.

“Our - _Strange_?” Bruce fills for him.

“Yes, _Strange_. He showed up - while I was taking the Tesseract in Asgard and warned me of what was going to come. And he showed me the future. Well, _his_ future. _When_ he was coming from. So - I saw myself die in that rather lousy and unworthy way, and _that_ was real, Thor. It really did happen. And then I saw - he made me see everything that happened after up until his own death, and then I was back in the vault and he said it was up to me to try and do _something_ to change the future. And then he disappeared, quite rudely and without having told me anything else, but never mind that. So, I was in the vault. And I did some thinking. And I found something that might help setting things right.”

“ _How_?” Steve asks, at the same time as Rocket, sounding _almost_ hopeful. Everyone else bar Bruce is looking with a mixture of disbelief, mistrust and vague hope, but of course they would be, given how their last meeting with his brother went, the ones who knew him, at least. Thor, for his own part, still can’t bloody believe this is happening. At all. He must be dreaming. Or hallucinating. Or maybe he died, too, and this is - _not_ Valhalla, but _somewhere else_. No way -

“I took something in the vault that I hadn’t noticed the previous time around. And then when Thanos showed up on the ship, I used the Tesseract to boost up my magic and have a double take my place and tell Thor here the same things I told him in the, uh, original timeline. Then I teleported myself in this specific moment thanks to the Tesseract before my double took it, and before you ask, Strange said that I couldn’t prevent Thanos getting all the gems, so don’t go and blame _me_ for that happening.”

“Fine, and what is this _something_ that might help us?”

“Nice to see you this willing to consider my plan, Captain,” Loki smiles, and then he opens his hand and produces -

“Is that _another_ Tesseract?” Steve asks as they look down at the blue, shining cube floating from Loki’s hands, bright with azure light. Loki opens his mouth to answer, but Thor does it first, finally breaking out of his stupor. Because no, that’s not the Tesseract. That’s -

“Loki,” he says, “are you telling me that Father had a _Cosmic Cube_ in his vault?”

“Too bad you seldom visited it,” Loki says, rolling his eyes, and it’s - so _familiar_ that Thor’s heart aches, also because when was the last time Loki looked at him like _that_? Maybe before the coronation. He doesn’t know. But he _had_ missed it. He had missed it, greatly.

“What’s _that_?” Steve asks.

“It’s - similar to the Tesseract,” Thor says. “It’s still a - powerhouse, I think you would call it. But it doesn’t hold an Infinity Stone inside it. It’s just - pure, condensed magic. Very hard to harness. There are only a few in the universe and all were thought lost. I hadn’t realized -”

“In his defense,” Loki said, “he had good reasons to keep it hidden. And there are good reasons why Mother never used it, most likely.”

“What - what can it do?” Bruce asks, sounding like he dreads the answer.

Loki laughs. “It turns desires into reality.”

For a moment, no one talks.

Then -

“ _Excuse me_?” Bruce asks. “It does _what_?”

Loki shrugs. “It turns the wielder’s desire into reality. But differently from the stones, it has… I think you Midgardians would call it a _catch_ , so to speak.”

“I _knew_ it couldn’t be so easy,” Bruce groans.

“What’s the catch?” Thor asks. “I - I only knew such things existed. But I never bothered to learn how they worked, I’m ashamed to say.”

“That’s why you should have paid attention during our lessons,” Loki replies. “Anyway, the catch is that if most beings with magical powers use it, it might start feeding off them, and if their intentions aren’t… wholly pure, we shall say, it might get to their head and do the opposite of their bidding, or it might drain their magic from them. Why do you think Thanos never tried to use such a cube nor to find it in the first place but went for the Stones instead? With _them_ , he can mold reality to his will without risking for his weapon to turn him mad. Or, madder than he is already, I suppose. That’s why Mother never dared using it, and that’s why _I_ wouldn’t have dared using it if I had known it was in the vault, and that’s why _you_ , brother, should not even attempt to.”

“Wait, _why_?”

“Because I can feel turmoil radiating off you,” Loki says, a sudden gentleness to his voice that Thor hadn’t expected, and he thinks _all_ of him aches at that sound. “And in that state, you wouldn’t be strong enough to channel its power without it hurting you. _That_ is the catch. I cannot use it, and neither can you. _But_ , I am sure there is someone in this group of friends of yours that is not a _magical being_ and whose intentions are, let’s say, _wholly pure_ , or mostly so, and who has a _strong_ will, otherwise this thing might drive them mad. I doubt that the cube is strong enough to obliterate the Stones, not if Thanos has all of them. _However_ , it might be strong enough to at least undo most of the damage, and maybe we could go even further. So, who do you propose?”

Loki’s looking at him, and then Thor glances at the small group of people behind him. “ _Don’t_ look at me,” Bruce says, “you don’t want the Hulk to have _that_ , if he even bothers taking notice of it. Guys, just no.”

Thor shakes his head - fair enough. But he wasn’t thinking of Bruce. He was thinking of -

“Steve,” he says.

“What - _me_?” Steve blurts, blinking and looking at the both of them as if they just lost their mind.

“Who else?” Thor smiles. “I think you fit that description. You certainly aren’t _magical_ , not the way he and I are. And your will is the strongest I know. Will you?”

“Do I even have a choice?” Steve asks, tiredly, but he’s smiling, maybe a bit. “Do you think I could start small?” He asks then, as the cube floats into his cupped hands. “Shit, it’s hot.”

“Small?” Loki says.

“Maybe we should test if it works before he wishes to bring back to life half of the universe that just got obliterated and it goes wrong,” Bruce says.

“Seems like the smart idea to me,” Rocket adds, and Thor thinks the sweet rabbit almost sounds hopeful. Almost. As if he doesn’t dare allowing himself to go _there_ because if it didn’t work, he couldn’t handle it.

“Well, that would make sense. Very well, Captain. Then hold that in your hands and wish for _something_ that might serve as a good… _test_ ,” Loki smiles, and Thor _needs_ to talk to him and soon, but now he cannot think about everything he wants to tell his brother - he’s too busy looking at the bright azure light shining from Steve’s palms.

“Right,” Steve says, his voice shaking. “Right.” He looks down on the ground. And then -

“Bring him back, _please_ ,” he sobs, and Thor _knew_ that he would ask for _that_. Of course he would. Not that he wouldn’t have asked for Loki back if it had been _him_ , so there’s no surprise in Steve’s request.

For a moment, nothing happens, but then the blue light pulses once, twice, and Steve grimaces as the cube burns through his gloves and scorches his palms, you can _smell_ it, and then -

Then the small amount of ashes at Steve’s feet condenses on itself again, going _backwards_ , forming legs first and then a waist and a chest and an arm and -

“… Steve, _what the fuck_ ,” Bucky Barnes says a moment after he’s materialized back in the world _again_ , metal arm and rifle and all, and Steve almost lets the cube drop but thankfully he doesn’t - he _does_ blink away tears, though, his lips curling into a smile so bright Thor feels like looking away for a moment.

“Seems like it worked,” Bruce says, sounding awed, but then he shakes his head. “Steve, I _know_ , but - wait a moment. Barnes, uh, before we finish this and let you and Steve, uh, _talk,_ because you both look like you need it, and before we do _anything else_ , could you _please_ share with the class where did you just go?”

Barnes blinks, once, twice, and then he takes a deep breath and nods. “I - one moment I was _here_. Then - then I was somewhere weird. With - a lot of the others.”

“Was Groot there?” Rocket asks, interrupting him.

“Who, the tree? Yeah, he was there. T’Challa as well,” he says, glancing at the two people who just came into the clearing - one is a warrior woman with a bright red dress who perks up at the mention of that name, and another is Colonel Rhodes. “And Sam, too. We shared a few jokes about being in Hell together, and then a bunch of other people showed up. They were the tree’s - I mean, your pal Groot, he seemed to know them. And there was that kid from Berlin, too, the one with spider webs, Wanda and Vision, and then some wizard guy who said that if he timed it well we’d be back here in no time. And everything was - weird. The sky was glowing orange all over and we walked a bit but it seemed like we were never going anywhere. Now, _what the Hell is going on_ and Steve, _what are you even doing_ with _that_?”

Rocket looks like he could throw up at hearing that _all the other Guardians_ apparently died, not that Thor cannot understand him. But - the sky _glowing orange_?

“If the sky was _that_ color and they all couldn’t seem to go anywhere - they’re inside the Soul Stone, aren’t they?” He asks Loki a moment later.

“It makes sense,” Loki nods. “And I suppose knowing that would make the Captain’s job way easier.”

“Right. Because I can just wish for all the souls inside that stone to be let free instead of bringing people back one by one, right?” Steve asks, his voice steady again. Thor honestly admires him for not having dropped the cube yet, given how he’s looking at Bucky and how it’s obvious that he hates that he hasn’t touched him yet, if only to make sure he really came back.

“Yes,” Thor says, clapping him on the shoulder. “And I would do it now, if I were you. We cannot lose too much time, especially since Thanos _will_ notice.”

“Right,” Steve says, “but - your ship. Your people. They wouldn’t come back with them, if they died before Thanos snapped his fingers.”

Thor knows. He knows even too well, but he’s had time to make peace with it, or try to. He wipes a couple of stray tears. “I suppose some of us will have to live with it,” he says. “But honestly, my wants cannot outweigh the world’s and I can see this is taxing on you. Free them, Steve. And then you can be done with it.”

Steve glares at him, but then he looks back down at the cube. “Very well.”

“What in the fresh hell are you doing with _that_?” Bucky asks.

“Bringing everyone back, same as I brought you,” Steve says, smiling tiredly but sincerely. “Don’t worry, it’s not going to be a, uh, permanent thing.”

“God, now even the magical stuff that brings people back to life. You _really_ can’t stay out of trouble, can you,” Bucky sighs, but then he notices the state of Steve’s tattered gloves and the burned skin under the cube. “Steve, Jesus, if bringing _me_ back burned through those, what is bringing everyone _back_ going to do to your damned hands?”

“Whatever. It’s a small price to pay.”

“For the love of -” Barnes shakes his head, then places his own metal hand around the cube, grabs Steve’s and puts them around his. “Here. It’s fucking vibranium, it can’t hurt _me_. Now go and do your thing.”

Steve swallows, his throat moving, and then he nods. And then he brushes his fingertips against the cube.

“Release the souls contained in the Soul Stone,” he whispers. “ _All_ of them.”

A moment later, he screams as the cube _flares_ blue, most likely Bucky’s arm is also scalding hot right now, but it doesn’t matter, because as he screams ashes start to fly around them and it feels like time’s going backwards for the time it takes for Groot to reform just next to Rocket, for Wanda to reappear on the ground as she kneels in front of Vision’s corpse, for _everyone else_ to do the same and -

A minute later, Sam Wilson flies down in the small clearing.

“Christ,” he says, looking at Steve and Barnes, “what did you two do _do_ now?”

“Brought you back, you ass,” Barnes wheezes - Steve is still holding on to the cube as he takes deep breaths, and then they can’t argue because Rhodes has grabbed Sam’s arm and breathed in relief and asking him where the hell did he end up.

“I see the wizard _was_ right,” another man with dark skin and a sleek black suit says as he comes in the clearing, and from how the warrior woman with the red dress - Okoye, Thor hears now - reacts, he deduces that he must be T’Challa, the king of this realm. Rocket is shouting at Groot to _bloody stop dying once and for all_ , but he also does sound relieved.

And then Steve takes a stuttering, deep breath as he lets his grip on the cube go slightly.

 

 

( _“No,” Peter screams as he feels himself disintegrate all over again and lose the grip he had on Gamora’s wrists just a minute after she finally was in his arms again while she also crumbled to dust under his hands, and a moment later he blinks and he’s back on Titan, dropping on the ground, same as Mantis and Drax._

_“What the fuck,” he says, and a moment later Nebula has grabbed his shoulders and squeezed so hard it hurt._

_“You were just dead,” she almost screams in his face._

_“Strange_ did _say it was supposed to go like that,” Tony Stark mutters, looking around the place as if waiting for something._

_“Well, we’re obviously not anymore,” Peter tells her. “And - Gamora - she was - over there, but -”_

_“She was disappearing as well,” Drax says. She must have come back, too.”_

_Peter, for the first time since she asked him to kill her and he had to shoot, feels like he can breathe freely. “Nebula, please tell me you know where - where Thanos -”_

_“Vormir,” she immediately replies. “It was the place where the Soul Stone was hidden.”_

_“We need to go there at once,” Peter says, and then he notices that Stark is still looking around as he’s waiting for something. And then he remembers._

_“Stark, did your kid -”_

_Stark_ flinches. _“Yes. Right here. But if you came back, he will, too. Go find this Gamora and then come back for me, if Strange doesn’t -_

_A moment later, Strange materializes back again._

_“Well, I see my backup plan worked,” he says, with all the calm in the world._

_“Your_ backup plan _?” Stark almost shouts._

_“You shall see. And you can go to Vormir and then come back to Earth directly, I will make sure he gets back._

_Peter doesn’t waste time and nods, then grabs Nebula’s arm and drags her towards the Milano, Mantis and Drax following suit._

_Vormir._

_She’s on Vormir._

_And Thanos had murdered her, he had -_

_Peter’s not making any stop along the way. Not until he gets there._ )

 

 

( _“I should go check on a few things,” Strange tells him before Tony can ask any questions. “While you wait for the kid.”_

_“But -”_

_“Don’t worry, I_ will _come back. I wouldn’t leave you hanging on this planet on your own,” Strange says,_ winking, _what the fuck, and then he opens a portal and disappears through it - whatever. Fine. That’s not the problem. The problem is that Peter’s fucking_ late _and it’d be just Tony’s luck if he’s the only one who doesn’t make it back -_

_And then he feels wind moving in front of him, and he holds his breath as the ash he was half-cradling to his chest flies off and towards that breeze, and a moment later there’s legs and a suit and arms and a terrified young face staring up at him -_

_“Mr. Stark…?” Peter says, very thinly, as if he’s trying it out and he’s nowhere near sure of what the hell just went on._

_Tony has no fucking clue, either, but it doesn’t matter, because the kid is_ alive _, thank fuck, and -_

 _He shakes his head and holds him close without giving him time to say anything else lest he really loses it, and yes, his heart’s beating wildly fast and he’s breathing and he’s_ alive _and he’s not crumbling into dust -_

 _“Fuck, you just - I lost ten fucking years of my life when you were_ dead _, I think you can fucking call me Tony already,” he blurts as Peter’s hands grab at his tattered jacket and he grabs him tighter and he thinks of that dream he had just the night before this whole mad deal started, about what he told Pepper, about how_ real _it felt and -_

 _Later. He’ll think about it later. Right now he’s just beside himself knowing that the kid didn’t die on_ his _watch, or at least, didn’t_ stay _dead, and he’s in no hurry to move. Not at all._ )

 

 

By the time it’s over, Steve’s brow is covered in cold sweat and he looks so pale, Thor is seriously getting worried that he might faint, but then he shakes his head. “Wait,” he says, as Loki reaches to have the cube back. “One last thing.”

“Steve, you don’t look so great,” Bruce tells him. “I’d leave it here if I were you.”

“Yeah, I barely even know who he is but he’s damn right,” Bucky agrees. “You can’t even fucking stand, don’t -”

“I don’t _feel_ so great, but we wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for - the two of them. And if _they_ can’t do it - I will have to.”

“Steve -” Thor starts.

“Thor, shut up,” Steve grins, tiredly. “Right. One last thing. Bring the Asgardians back, please.”

He screams again a moment later, and the cube goes bright blue again as Thor’s hand finds Loki’s wrist without even thinking about it. Loki’s free hand immediately clamps over his, and the grip would have probably broken a regular human’s, but surely not _Thor’s_ , and for a long, long moment they’re blinded by that azure, until it dies down and stops pulsing, and then Steve crashes to his knees with blood falling out of his nose, as Bucky curses to the Nine Realms and back while he moves the cube out of Steve’s hands, and then T’Challa’s transmitter blares to life at once.

“Your Majesty,” someone says from the other side, “a ship sent a landing request, even if they’re apparently a few hours away. It’s a _large_ ship. Should we -”

“Yes,” the king replies at once, “let them in when they land."

He feels like fainting, _honestly_ , he does, but then Steve groans and -

“Took you long enough.”

The cube suddenly flies from Barnes’s hands into the air towards someone at Thor’s back, but if he’s not mistaken and he recognized the voice -

“ _Strange_?” He asks, turning towards the wizard, who is - standing behind them?

“Fuck that,” Barnes says, “you were right.”

“He was _right_?” Rocket asks, sounding completely confused - then again, Thor has a feeling everyone here is, except maybe Strange and his brother.

Strange shrugs minutely, the cube flying into his hands. “I see the backup plan worked.” He turns towards Loki. “Good thinking,” he tells him.

“No thanks to _you_ ,” Loki huffs, but he doesn’t sound too angry nor annoyed, differently from the last time all three of them shared a room.

“Well, I had no time.”

“Er,” Sam says, “I _think_ you need to explain it to all of them, too.”

Strange shrugs as he wraps his fingers around the cube - it doesn’t seem to hurt him the way it hurt Steve, though. Thor winces as he sees the state of Steve’s palms - they’re bleeding, the skin is completely burned and his healing factor doesn't seem to be kicking in, and Barnes is looking at them murderously.

“Well, I did try and see every possible future to check the percentage we had of winning, and there was _one_ good outcome on - fourteen million, just about. And I figured that at this point there was nothing to lose if I _made_ another future. So I went back in time and told _Loki_ here about the situation when he was someplace where he could find suitable help, as I didn’t have many other options when it came to using magic, and I see he did what I was hoping he would.”

“You’re welcome,” Loki mutters.

“ _So_ , both the original outcome and _this_ one implied that Thanos got all the stones, but _this_ one, well, it was a surer bet. And I see it _did_ work, even if I fear that Captain Rogers over there might need a long break.”

“Sure as hell he does,” Bucky says, grabbing one of Steve’s arms and putting it over his shoulder. “Wilson, help me out here.”

“Just because it’s _him_ ,” Sam rolls his eyes as he answers and goes on Steve’s other side, grabbing the other arm.

“Bucky, Sam, I think the Captain should go to Shuri’s lab to see what we can do about those hands. Everyone else here, you should be someplace safe while we assess the damage,” T’Challa says. “M’Baku,” he tells to another young warrior who had arrived into the clearing a few moments before, "if you would stay with Okoye while I deal with it. Okoye, I will expect a report of what’s going here as soon as they’re done. When they are, have everyone who’s not coming to the lab brought over as well and someone can find them rooms, I think they all deserved some rest.”

“Should I close back the dome after -”

“I’ll worry about that.”

T’Challa heads towards a nearby building with Bucky and Sam bringing Steve with and following him. Then Strange clears his throat. “As I was saying -”

“Hey,” Rocket interrupts him, “Mr. Beautiful-Arm-Over-There, before, said that Quill and Drax _died_ , can you please elaborate on _that_?” Thor can’t help notice that Groot is standing _really_ close to him, tendrils grasping at Rocket’s shirt.

“ _As I was saying_ , the backup plan went off exactly as I was hoping. Your friends materialized on Titan just as everyone here did, and yes, they _were_ dead, for the time all of us were, but they took off along with that blue-eyed cyberwoman -”

“ _Nebula_?!!”

“Yes, I think,” Strange shrugs. “They went to Vormir for your other friend. She also was in the soul stone. Quill was, uh, _very_ eager to go get her, if you catch my drift. Stark is still there because he was _waiting_ for something -”

“God, is Tony all right?” Bruce asks. “I thought -”

“He’ll be fine,” Strange says. “Actually, I should go collect him. Regardless, I just wanted to check if things went according to plan, and they did. I will see you all shortly.”

“And where are you bringing that cube?” Loki asks.

Strange _smirks_. “With me, of course. I am still a _human_ , Loki. And I am the Sorcerer Supreme. I handed one Infinity Stone, I can handle this, for now.” Suddenly, it’s hanging at his neck in place of the Time stone. “And now I have to go back to Titan to see if _everyone_ is back so I can play intergalactic taxi one last time and we can decide how to proceed next. Hopefully your friends,” he tells Rocket, “are coming back on their own soon enough.”

“Just -” Natasha asks, “this all sounds great, but what if Thanos undoes everything again when he finds out? Which I suppose will be _very_ soon?”

Strange downright smirks. “Don’t you think I haven’t just wished for him to _not_ find out the moment I had this in my hands? It won’t last _too_ much, but it will buy us some time. Enough to get some bloody sleep anyway. With your permission,” he says, and then disappears through another portal.

For a moment, no one says anything.

Then -

“So,” Okoye says, sounding like she’s fighting a headache, “when I report to my king, do I tell him that the wizard went back in time so that _his_ brother could find some magic artifact that would undo the evil Thanos unleashed on the world, that it worked out because Rogers could handle it and that now the wizard is going back to _space_ to bring here - Tony Stark? While - uh, the raccoon and the tree -”

“Two fifths of the Guardians of the Galaxy,” Rocket says. “The other three should get here soon enough, _good_. Fuck. _Fuck_ , this has been a goddamn long day and I think I’m fucking tired.”

“And there came the day I agreed with a talking raccoon,” Natasha sighs. Thor doesn’t point out that he’s a _rabbit_ , not a raccoon. It doesn’t seem the right moment. “Okoye, maybe we should get both Wanda and Vision back at the princess’s lab? I don’t know if there’s something that can be done, but -”

“We shall see. Very well. M’Baku, can you help her carry them?” Okoye asks the other man, who nods and goes to get Vision wile Natasha sets on waking Wanda up, or at least getting her on her feet enough that she can walk back to the lab. “Everyone else, either follow the others or wait for the sorcerer and head back for the city.”

“Wait,” Bruce says, “I’m going to the lab. Maybe I can help out.”

“Suit yourself,” Okoye says, and then -

“Who talked about labs? Because I think I could use a few hours of thinking about _science_ before I inevitably collapse - what is _Loki_ doing here? Thor, where the hell is the hammer? _Where_ are we anyway? Why are a tree and a raccoon - ah, right, Quill’s friends, _whatever_ \- Bruce, _did you drive the Hulkbuster_?”

Right. Tony Stark, with - a _kid_ hanging off his shoulder? The kid is out cold, admittedly, but Stark is clutching at his arm _real_ tight.

“Uh,” Bruce says, “ _right._ I was talking about labs because we’ve got Vision back but without the stone, Loki’s here because he’s helping us and he’s actually the reason everyone’s alive now and admittedly he wasn’t so bad on Sakaar, I guess, the hammer got destroyed or something before we got to meet again, we’re in Wakanda and I think you _will_ love R &R here, and _yes_ , I drove the Hulkbuster, and who’s the kid?”

“He’s - long story. He’s with me,” Stark says, his voice suddenly turning softer. “I guess I should - wait, _Wakanda_?”

“I’m going to fill him in,” Natasha says as Wanda groans and leans on her as she stands up. “And to find him and the _kid_ someplace to sleep, no way he’s doing R &R now. You look like you’re going to crash any minute.”

“So what, we’re trusting Loki now?”

“You’re welcome!”

“Bast help me,” Okoye says, “ _leave_ , now, all of you, you will be briefed later.”

At that tone, no one dares contradict her, not even Strange - everyone heads back for the city except the few people going for the lab, all except for the two of them.

Thor hasn’t moved nor attempted to. The first reason is that right now he feels so tired he could faint. The second is that he thinks he needs a minute alone with Loki before going with anyone else.

“Well?” Loki asks, noticing that Thor is still holding his wrist. “Are we going or not? Because believe me, after the day I had, I _could_ rest -”

“I _can_ believe that,” Thor says, “and if you saw the future, you _know_ what kind of day _I_ had.”

Right _then_ , something in Loki’s stare turns softer, the way it was on the ship from Asgard, when he said _I am here_ -

“Powering a dying star is somehow something so unbelievably, _suicidally_ idiotic that I can absolutely see you going for it,” he says, but his voice isn’t so steady and there’s not enough bite in it for Thor to take it anywhere near seriously.

“Well, I _did_ have nothing to lose at that point,” Thor answers, his other hand going to Loki’s shoulder, feeling it under his fingertips and - and it’s _real_ , he can feel it, it’s not some kind of illusion - “And let me tell you, I’ve never been happier to see that you faked your death, _again_.”

“But I didn’t, the first time around,” Loki whispers, cautiously. “Or maybe I never did, if - never mind. I - I hadn’t meant to, either way. Not this time.”

“I know,” Thor says, “I _know_ , and - as happy as I am _this time_ , I could do without a _fourth_ round, if you would be so kind.”

“I don’t know if I can _promise_ that, but I can promise you that if you have to see me die again, I _will_ have tried to fake it.”

And at _that_ -

“I suppose it’s fair,” Thor laughs, his eyes burning, and a moment later he can’t hold back anymore - he grabs at Loki’s shoulders and hugs him again, but _way_ tighter than he had on the ship, maybe more than he ever has in his life, and he can hear Loki wheeze for a moment before slender fingers find his shoulders, digging in just as hard. If he thinks that half an hour ago he had given up all hope that he’d ever get to see _anyone_ who was on that ship ever again -

He’s _not_ going to think about it.

“Thor, you hold any tighter, _you_ will kill me,” Loki wheezes, but he’s not attempting to get out of the embrace. Not at all.

“I think I know if you can take it or not,” Thor says, and maybe a few stray tears are falling from his eyes as he says it, his skin warmed by the sunlight -

Wait.

He moves back, not enough to release Loki but enough to look up at the sky.

It _is_ sunny, warm with a clear sky above them.

“Oh,” he says, _finally_ realizing.

“I told you that the sun would shine on us again, but did you listen?” Loki jokes, but it falls somehow flat, and it’s obvious his mind’s not wholly on making Thor angry - he’s not even trying.

“No,” Thor grins, “but I would be glad to listen to whatever else you have to foresee for us. Maybe not _here_.”

Loki nods curtly. “Not here. I suppose over there.”

“We should follow,” Thor agrees. “But - just - maybe in a minute,” he decides, and when he holds Loki close again, there’s no resistance against it, and actually Loki is maybe clinging to him _way_ more strongly than usual.

Good.

He’s held a dying star together, he thinks he can do the same right now, and it certainly will feel way, _way_ better than _that_.

And if everything else fails, at least _this_ was true - the sun is shining on them, and Thanos will have to physically tear him apart before he lets him take that from him, again.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again: that's the thunderfrost porn. Skip if you don't care for it, enjoy if you do. The Steve/Bucky content is for the next chapter. ;)

 

Eventually, they follow Okoye to the city, where they’re brought into a palace that reminds Thor of Asgard’s, certainly the closest to it he’s seen on Midgard, and she has one of her warriors - Thor didn’t catch the name, but he’s sure they’re this country’s Valkyrie, tomorrow he will make sure to ask - bring them to a large room, with high windows and what looks like an extremely comfortable bed. Thor makes sure of it in a moment, touching the mattress, and - yes. It _is_ indeed comfortable. He places Stormbreaker against the wall, carefully, and then lets himself breathe once, twice, realizing just now how damn _tired_ he feels. It’s been a bloody long couple of days, hasn’t it.

When he turns back to Loki, he’s leaning against the door, staring at him with an unreadable look on his face.

“It would be moot if I asked what’s wrong, wouldn’t it?”

“Why?” Loki asks back, taking a few steps in his direction.

“If you’re feeling anywhere like _I_ do, I should ask what’s _not_ wrong,” he snorts, shrugging his cloak off.

“Fair enough,” Loki says, “and where did you find that eye?”

“The - oh, the rabbit gave it to me. Rocket, I mean. He had it on his ship.”

“Who even has _random_ artificial body parts on their - never mind. It wouldn’t be the strangest thing that’s happened to either of us,” Loki tells him, shaking his head and moving closer. Now they’re a breath apart, and Thor can feel tension rising in the air, and he wishes it wouldn’t because it _hadn’t_ out in the field, but now that they’re alone when he thought they wouldn’t be anymore -

He feels like throwing up. He rarely has in his entire life, but for a moment he wants to, thinking _and what if the backup plan hadn’t worked_?

“It wouldn’t have,” Thor agrees, his voice thinner than he’d like.

Loki’s lips are tight, pressed in a thin line, and he looks - does he look worried?

“I - sorry,” Thor says, “I’m just -”

“Thor, you bloody - have you missed the part where Strange showed me the future? _All_ of it?”

“All…? You mean…?”

“I _saw_ you,” Loki replies, moving closer, raising a hand tentatively. “I - when you said you mourned me - I think I hadn’t quite realized -” He shakes his head, and Thor can’t remember the last time he saw him at such a loss for words -

( _Or maybe he did, in that elevator in Sakaar_ )

“You - I think you _do_ still have something to lose now,” Loki finally says, cautiously, as if he doesn’t know if it’s the right thing to say or not, and then his fingers brush against Thor’s cheek, just barely -

And then he immediately yanks them back after a spark of lightning bursts out of that barely there contact.

Oh.

_Oh_ , that was _him_ , wasn’t -

“Thor,” Loki says, “are you -”

He never finishes that sentence.

“No,” Thor cuts him off, and then he raises his hands to Loki’s face and grabs it in between his palms and tries to _stop_ himself from doing what he just did as he moves closer and closer and then Loki’s hands are on his hips and -

As his friends here on Midgard would say, _to hell with it_ , he thinks, because the last time _this_ happened it was - before he was sent here and before the first coronation that didn’t come to be and it’s been so _long_ and he had thought they might discuss it while coming back to Earth before Thanos showed up but then they didn’t and -

He’s crashed his mouth against Loki’s before he’s thought it though, or at all, and Loki’s hands immediately grab tighter at his waist as he kisses back almost ferociously, his tongue meeting Thor’s at once, and Thor groans in relief into his mouth thinking that for _once_ , finally, _something_ feels perfectly right -

That is, until Loki jerks in his arms again and Thor lets him go at once after seeing sparks leave his fingers again while he hears the sound of thunder in the far distance.

Thor looks down at his hands, and _another_ blue sparkle leaves them.

“I -” Thor starts, looking helplessly down at his palms. “I think -”

“Let me guess,” Loki says, moving closer again, “your _emotions_ might currently be… a bit all over the place, we shall say?”

“I - maybe,” he breathes, “I cannot control it, I’m afraid.” Just as he says it, heavy rain finally hits the windows, almost crashing down on the fine but sturdy glass, a flash of lightening appearing in the distance. The sky is completely dark with clouds now.

“Huh,” Loki considers, glancing outside the window, then at him. “I saw it,” he says, not looking at him, “but - I still hadn’t understood, I guess.”

“What?” Thor blurts, even if he has a feeling about the correct answer. His hands are still sizzling with electricity, blue sparks leaving them without pause.

Loki leaves the window, moves in front of him again -

“Thor, honestly, do you think I _couldn’t_ take it?” He grins, shakily, and then grabs at Thor’s hands and slams them on his own hips, and he jerks under his grip for a moment, then again, but he doesn’t look like he’s _suffering_.

“Loki -”

“It merely prickles,” he says, “I only moved away before because I didn’t expect it. But if you think I _mind_ , I might need to reassess my newly found opinions about how much of an idiot you can be at times.”

“Why,” Thor says, and he can feel himself grinning back, even if as shakily, his fingers moving up to the buttons on Loki’s vest, “you had reconsidered that specific stance?”

“Maybe I had,” Loki agrees, but it comes out almost strangled as Thor tears away the clothing, revealing a pale shoulder, and Loki _moans_ the moment he shocks him with one of those bolts, just as he hears thunder from outside again, and -

And Thor thinks he’s _done_ holding it in.

He tears open the entire vest, getting it off Loki completely, a hand going to the small of Loki’s back, dragging him closer, another shock leaving his palm, and Loki moans again, and is he really enjoying _that -_

Maybe he does. Hopefully he does. He slams his mouth against Loki’s again, and again, small shocks bursting through his fingers as Loki’s hips jerk forward with each of them, and damn, _damn,_ it’s _not enough_ -

“I think,” Loki breathes, breaking the kiss, “that it’s - _oh_ \- highly unfair that you are completely dressed and I’m _not._ ”

And - as much as Thor loathes taking his hands off him, it’s also true that he’s still wearing armor, and getting rid of that while touching each other might be hard.

“Maybe you’re right,” he says. “Right. Right, let me just -” He starts, moving back, and moves a hand to his shoulder, getting rid of the armor as fast as he can and letting it clatter to the ground, and kicks off his boots same as Loki, and then he can’t stay away anymore and he grabs at Loki’s arms again, bringing him closer, and he groans when he feels Loki’s fingers opening up his belt, and he moves his hands downwards and about tears the leather under his hands, he can’t bother with the rest, and Loki laughs against his mouth, shakily but _real_ -

“I liked those trousers,” he says against Thor’s lips, his hands moving back up, fingers grasping at his too-short hair.

“We’ll find you another pair,” Thor answers, feeling Loki’s skin get warmer and _warmer_ under the jolts still leaving his hands - he’s not controlling it, he _can’t_ , not for now, but Loki doesn’t seem to mind as he runs his fingers through his hair again and again, both hands.

“I haven’t - had time to say,” Loki moans, his voice hitching at every jolt, “but this doesn’t look bad on you.”

He snorts. “It’s still weird. I liked it long,” he says, and reaches up with his free hand to grasp at Loki’s hair to prove the damned point. “But I guess at least _someone_ does like it.”

“Hair grows back,” Loki hisses, “it could’ve been worse.”

He’s not quite looking at him now, and of course he’s not, because of course he wouldn’t _say_ it outright, and it’s so achingly familiar that Thor really can’t hold back anymore, and a moment later he’s grabbed Loki by the hips and slammed his back against the window - the glass is thin but hard as stone and the rain is falling so heavily one can barely see the outside, and as Loki’s legs wrap around his waist he’s jerking in his arms in small spams, one for each time blue sparks leave Thor’s hands, _moaning_ every time he does, and his teeth are biting down on Thor’s bottom lip, and he can taste blood but it’s _fine_ , it’s blood he _wants_ to taste for once, and Loki’s gripping at his back so hard it might bruise and damn if Thor doesn’t wish it would - he would gladly bear any of those bruises and feel them just to remember that it’s happened and Loki’s _here_ and he’s not _dead_ , and suddenly he has to reach up to cup the back of his neck to feel it shaking under his palm, and the moment a jolt of electricity leaves his palm, Loki about latches on to him, the grip of his legs hurting, and a moment later their clothes are gone.

“What -” Thor blurts.

“Magic’s just not illusions,” Loki smirks. “I could’ve done that before, but it was more fun not to. Now, though -” He moans as his cock rubs against Thor’s thigh and he’s as hard as Thor himself, and he should just bring this to the bed and take his time, but he’s not - he can’t, he can’t _leave_ , not until they’re done, not until his hands _stop_ letting loose shocks of light, not until he’s come down enough from the turmoil inside him.

He should move this to the bed, he thinks, he _should_ , as much as he just wants to go for it _now_ because having Loki’s warm, soft skin under his fingers is about depriving him of any common sense, and then Loki’s fingers are grasping at what he can of his hair, tugging -

“Thor, _damn it_ , I’m not going to break and I don’t have time for you being _gentle_ now, or have you forgotten that we’re the same? You can be - bloody - _gentle_ \- later,” he sighs, stopping at every jolt that Thor’s fingers land against his skin, “and I _want_ to feel it,” he adds, quieter, still not quite looking at him, and -

Thunder roars outside as Thor spits on his fingers and shoves them inside Loki, once, twice, spitting again as much as he can because as rough as this will get he still doesn’t want it to _hurt_ , not truly, and he’s so hard it aches by now, but he can’t worry about that now, not when they’re both _this_ close, and rain turns to hail as he spits on his palm for a last time, runs a hand over his erection trying to not spill right here and now, and he can barely feel the sound of ice hitting the glass as he lines against Loki and pushes in, once, _fast._

Loki lets out a groan that’s half pain and half pleasure, his legs tightening around Thor’s waist, pushing back against him as he moves back and thrusts forward, _again_ and again, and a bout of lightening falls just outside their window, in the grass outside, not that he can see anything beyond Loki’s eyes finally meeting his and his flushed cheeks and his parted lips as Loki’s hands still grasp at the sides of his head or his neck or his back, running all over him as if he also wants to make sure he’s _there_ -

He shuts his eyes closed as he thrusts again, _harder_ , Loki moaning again and again as electric sparks leave Thor’s fingertips and hit the small of his back again, hail raining down harder and harder - there’s a proper thunderstorm outside now, how ironic - and he knows he won’t last long, he _does_ -

“I had _seen_ -” Loki groans, and Thor is sure his nails are drawing blood, but it doesn’t matter, it _doesn’t_ \- “But I hadn’t _felt_ -”

“What, how much - how much I _mourned_ you?” Thor finishes for him, moving back. “How much I wished I had _never_ had to watch you _die_?” He thrusts forward, again, and Loki’s _tight_ around him, tight and warm and right _there_ \- “How much I wanted - to drive that blade into Thanos’s heart for _you_ , too? Well, I think - I think it’s obvious, isn’t it?” He breathes, just as _another_ flash of lightening hits the ground outside their room again, the thunder drowning out his voice but not enough for Loki to _not_ listen -

“Yes,” Loki groans, meeting his thrusts, “you always - you always were, after all,” he wheezes, and then, “Thor, _Thor_ , just _do it_ , do - _oh_ ,” he screams, even if it’s drowned out by another strike of thunder, just as Thor slams him against the window and buries himself inside him, small jolts still leaving his fingertips, coming just a moment before Loki does the same the moment he reaches down with a hand and wraps it around his erection and gives it a couple strokes, shallow because he knows his skin is still sizzling - he can hold him up with one hand only, anyhow. And he _does,_ as Loki spills against his hand and hail turns back into rain, taking deep breaths, shuddering as Loki’s shaking fingers run along the back of his head and through his too-short hair, his legs’ grip on Thor’s waist faltering as he moans in pleasure.

His skin doesn’t feel like it’s on fire anymore and he’s not letting electricity free by the time Loki’s feet hit the ground and the downpour gets slightly less strong.

For a moment, neither of them says a thing, catching their breath, Loki’s hands almost oddly gentle as they caress the back of his head all over again.

“You _are_ obvious,” Loki finally says, sounding exhausted but not in the bad way, and Thor suddenly feels _tired_ as well, as if all the adrenaline he’s been building up for days has just left his body at once, the rain’s sound becoming less strong with each passing second. “But it’s - I used to think badly of it. For a while.”

“And now you do not?” Thor rasps, letting his grasp go looser.

“No,” Loki says, shaking his head. “No, I don’t. All in all, it is - something to count on, at least.”

“Well, I just hope that you won’t let me _count on_ you surviving every damned time you die in front of me,” he tries to joke, even if it falls flat - he doesn’t think he can joke about it, now.

Outside, the clouds part. Some sunlight pours in.

Loki’s hand moves to his face, his thumb pressing a circle under his fake eye.

“The - the others will be here soon, I think,” he says. “And - it’s been merely hours for me. But it’s been - _days_ for you. Maybe you should rest.”

“Hm. You always had sensed ideas, hadn’t you,” Thor agrees, and moves toward the bed, grasping at Loki’s arm and dragging him with - he’s indeed tired, _horribly_ so, and he can’t remember the last sleep he had, and he wishes it had been mere hours for him, too. He flops down on it after dragging the covers back - he’ll need to thank his hosts later, it _is_ as comfortable as his old Asgardian quarters - and Loki follows him a moment later, throwing a leg over Thor’s, hooking their ankles together. Thor raises a hand, meaning to bring Loki’s head closer, but the moment before it grasps Loki’s neck he realizes what he quite hadn’t before, and -

“Can I -” He says, and then Loki huffs, grabs his hand and slams it over the back of his neck.

“ _So_ predictable,” he says, but he’s smiling, slightly. “ _You_ can.” He says nothing else, but Thor senses what he means and so he lets his fingers cup it gently, bringing Loki closer, their lips brushing before he goes for a full kiss, even if he’s too tired to make it count.

He wants to sleep. He wants to, but -

“Thor, for the love of -” He says, shaking his head and moving closer. “Get some sleep. I - I will be there when you wake up. I - I think I am quite done disappearing on you.”

“You better should be,” he slurs, closing his eyes, feeling sunlight touch his skin through the window. Loki doesn’t move, and in a few hours he’ll have his people and his other friends back again, and maybe they haven’t _won_ for good -

But they won _this_ battle, for now. He thinks he’s earned some respite, he thinks, and - look at it. The sun _is_ shining on them again.

Not that he hasn’t ever been happy of knowing Loki was right about something through the centuries they lived, but he thinks he hasn’t ever been _as_ happy of that as he is right now.

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand that's for the Steve/Bucky content. XD

“You,” Bucky says as he drops Steve on the bed, “are a goddamned _idiot_ and I swear to fucking - what the _hell_ were you even thinking?”

Steve shrugs, minutely, as if someone with shoulders _that_ wide can shrug _minutely_ , and he’s still fucking _smiling_ as if he’s doing perfectly fine. “I was doing what I had to,” he says, calm, so calm it’s almost unnerving.

“Yeah, _what you had to_ ,” Bucky spits back, grabbing his wrists and turning his palms upwards. The skin is still completely scorched underneath the gauze - his healing factor hasn’t quite kicked in yet, if it ever will, because he got himself burns that are just shy of third degree thanks to fucking _magical crap_ , and Shuri’s done what she could but apparently _magic_ is the one thing Wakanda’s medicine isn’t already equipped for, and _what she could_ translated into stopping the bleeding and getting Steve’s wounds to a level where there’s no bleeding and they scarred all over, but they’re still tender and _red_ in ways Bucky doesn’t like at all. Bruce put some more medication on it and wrapped them up in gauze and told them to be careful with the tone of someone who knows they _won’t_ be - Bucky’s known the guy for maybe ten hours and he likes him already - and then they sent them back to the city and showed them a nice, very lavish room that Bucky has barely looked at.

Because -

Fuck that, _dying_ in itself didn’t hurt, he’s been inside the goddamned Soul Stone for what, fifteen minutes tops, and then he came back, so overall it hasn’t even been _that_ bad to _him_. But coming back to see Steve dabbling with fucking _magic_ and testing the serum to its limits by voluntarily fucking up his _hands_ to undo that shit was _worse_ , damn it, and didn’t he say that he’s too damned old for this? If he hasn’t, he’s saying it now.

“I’m too fucking old for this shit,” he says, turning Steve’s hands and checking the outer side - that’s just _merely_ superficially burned, “and _you_ are too fucking old for this shit.”

“My birthday’s a week from now,” Steve grins, tiredly. “I don’t think I am.”

“Ah, because now the one hundred mark is when you get too old for this shit? I was too old for it in fucking ’43,” Bucky says, shaking his head. His own vibranium hand is, at least, perfectly functional - good thing that at least. “Jesus, I just - are you sure you’re fine, not counting _the state of your damned hands_?”

“I am,” Steve says, and now he sounds completely serious. “I swear, I’d have told Shuri or Bruce if there was a problem. It’s just the hands. I’m not hearing voices and I’m not feeling like looking for Strange and asking back for the cube. Really. I’m good.”

He raises one hand to Bucky’s face at that, and every complain Bucky was ready to spit out dies in his throat the moment Steve’s bandaged palm touches his cheek. “Yeah,” Bucky says, his voice losing the angry edge to it, sitting down on the bed as well without breaking the contact, “and why did it have to be _you_?”

Steve downright _blushes_ at that. “Uh, well,” he says, “I - Loki said it wasn’t safe to use if you had _magic_ already. Something about it feeding off you and turning you mad. And that it wasn’t safe to do it if you didn’t have a very strong will on top of, uh, being human. I was apparently Thor’s first choice.”

“Well, I can believe you were Thor’s _first choice_ ,” Bucky sighs, “and I wholly get it, but for - you didn’t know what could’ve happened. You got away lightly with just - that, but what if -”

“Bucky,” Steve says, his hand moving to his shoulder, grasping _hard_ , and - the _hell,_ he’s hurt, why is he doing that -, “I don’t think you understand - I saw you die once. And _then_ I saw you die twice just after - just _after_ it seemed like you were doing all right. And that’s not counting the Helicarrier, but - that’s not the point. I don’t think you’re quite grasping the point. Which was, I couldn’t - I _couldn’t_ , all right? Once was bad enough. I couldn’t live with myself if there was any way to bring you back and I didn’t go for it.”

Well, _shit_ , he had figured that must’ve been the point, and - damn it. He raises his own hand, the vibranium one, covering Steve’s with his, the other reaching out as Steve’s free one touches it.

“Steve, damn it, I can’t even fault you because I would’ve done the same if it had been _you_ dying in front of me, hell, I couldn’t leave you alone when I didn’t even remember you, but - you didn’t know how it’d have gone. You didn’t even fucking _wait_. You do realize that if it had gone wrong -”

“But it didn’t.”

“ _This time_ it didn’t, and what about next time?”

“Next time we plan our moves,” Steve says, resolutely. “And - well, we’re better off now than we were _before._ And I swear to - I’m going with you wherever the hell it is that you might end up, though hopefully not _in the Soul Stone_.”

“God, you’re such a stubborn punk, I - never mind, of course you are. Shit, I just, and how are you planning on stopping Thanos now, with your _bare hands_? Because as it is -”

“I tried before,” Steve smiles, tiredly, and _of course he fucking did_ -, “I will again if there’s the need.”

“Yeah, and what happens when you fuck up your hands beyond what that serum can do for you?”

He shrugs again, and now he seems like - like _he wouldn’t mind_.

What in the ever-loving -

“Bucky, can I be wholly honest with you?”

“Why _wouldn’t_ you be now?”

He smiles, fondly, moving slightly closer. They’re still clutching at each others’s hands and Bucky wants to just hold on to him the way they didn’t have time for in the airport, but -

“I’m tired,” Steve whispers. “I’m _tired_. Since - since Berlin, what do you think I’ve done? I’ve been hiding with Sam and Nat, and while being underground is _way_ better than being a fucking national icon which you _know_ I always hated, it’s still - it’s tiring. Since I woke up, if I wasn’t on the run I was fighting people, and for years I did it for SHIELD and I was - it was Hydra infiltrating them all along. When it came to pick between you and that shield, I didn’t even think about it because no piece of vibranium was worth your life. So what if this entire ordeal ends with me not being able to do that anymore? _Who cares_. It’d be freedom, actually.”

Bucky’s blood goes cold as he realizes that he _means it_ , and he’s not joking, not one bit, and -

“Steve, for - you spent years hating being sick and now you’re wishing you were?”

Steve laughs at that, openly, and fine, Bucky had missed this, he had missed him, he had missed seeing him _happy_ -

“So what if I am? And what if - what if when this is done, if we’re alive, I just - want to quit?”

Bucky can barely hear it, and he sounds - tired. And his voice is small enough that it’s obvious he feels somewhat ashamed he went there, but -

_Ah, fuck this_ , Bucky thinks as he moves his hands down and grasps at Steve’s shoulders, dragging him in, and when he feels Steve’s bandaged palms press against his own back, he exhales in relief.

“Steve, fuck’s sake, you gave your _life_ for your country, I think you’re fucking allowed to want to quit. I didn’t run across Europe because I _didn’t_ want to quit, after all,” he replies, and a moment later they’re holding to each other so tight it hurts, and - fuck that.

He kicks off his shoes, waiting until Steve does the same with his, and then lays down on the bed dragging Steve on top of him, and then he moves his hands to Steve’s face and drags it down and _finally_ kisses him the way they haven’t done since the first trip to Wakanda and that they _hadn’t_ done since ’43 _before_ then, and a moment later Steve’s kissing him back like a starved man, not that Bucky has a problem with it because _he_ feels like a starved man, too.

“I like the beard,” he says when they part for breath, a long time later.

“Do you?” Steve smiles. “Good to know. I was thinking I’d keep it.”

“It suits you,” Bucky agrees. “You totally should. And hey, if you never go back to - to the shield, no one says you have to look like the kind of person the Army wants on their recruit posters.”

“I’m _not_ going back to it,” Steve shakes his head. “I couldn’t. And if I have to choose between it and you, well, I’d rather have you, all things considered.”

“Good to hear that,” Bucky smirks back, kissing him again, feeling Steve’s hands tremble against his face, and maybe -

Maybe -

“Steve, you know, if you want to get my clothes off, I’m not stopping you,” he says, hoping he read Steve right but he _knows_ he has because he _knows_ Steve, and a moment later Steve’s looking down at him with those blue, blue eyes of his -

“If you want -”

“Steve, you _idiot_ , while I had other plans for the first time we fucked since the forties, I think I can just recycle them for when it’s not the end of the world anymore. But of course _I want_. Shit, you _know_ there’s nothing else I could want, or wasn’t I clear enough up until now?”

Steve _looks_ down at him and it seems like he might protest but - but then he crashes his mouth against Bucky’s and unbuttons his uniform slowly, with trembling fingers but a strong grip, and he about slams his hands against Bucky’s naked skin when he sees it, and he presses a hand against his heart as he gets rid of his belt as if he needs to _feel_ it and - and Bucky _knows_ him. He knows Steve won’t calm the hell down until he’s had thorough proof he’s alive and _here_ and that they’re both finally in the same place at the same time, and so what if he had planned a nice night in his own hut with his own bed and his own basket and his own cooking and just the two of them being the only people in the whole area?

He can do that later, he decides, and fuck Thanos if he thinks he’s going to win _again_ and be in the way of their plans, _again_ , and so he lets Steve take off his clothes without moving, and he doesn’t even try to scold him when he tears the bandages off his hands and starts running them through his hair and then along his shoulders.

“Doesn’t that hurt?” Bucky asks as his own hands reach up, undoing the buttons on Steve’s shirt - he took off the uniform in the lab, good thing that.

“Some,” Steve says, “but I couldn’t - I had to feel it. I _have_ to feel you, or -” He never finishes the sentence - he leans down and kisses Bucky again, his _way_ rougher hands cupping his neck, and Bucky hates the feeling because before they were just rough, now he just hopes he doesn’t re-open his damned wounds again, but other than that - it’s not _bad_.

He runs his good hand up Steve’s back, burying it in his hair - it’s longer, he likes that he can grab at it now - and when Steve moans against his mouth the moment Bucky finds friction against his thigh, he shallowly thrusts his hips upwards, looking for more contact, more -

“Fuck,” Steve breaths, “ _fuck_ , I -”

“I think,” Bucky groans, his cock rubbing against Steve’s, and fuck but Steve’s _hard_ and he is too, and this is going to be embarrassingly short, but maybe - “I think you should just go with _that_ ,” he says, “and then - then I think I have a plan.”

“Such as?” Steve asks, reaching down and cautiously wrapping his least damaged hand around _both_ their erections, and Bucky does the same and joins him with his good one, _tugging_ , and Steve moans against his mouth, and fuck if it ain’t the sweetest sound he’s heard in the last seventy years or so.

“We can - we can finish this now and be embarrassed about it for five minutes, then while _you_ rest I can put some clothes on and find you a pair of gloves and some lube so you _don’t_ hurt those hands any further, and then you can show me a good time exactly the way you want _without_ making that worse -” He starts, and then sees Steve’s eyes narrow when he says that he’s going to have to leave the room. “Never mind, I can just call Bruce or _something_ and have him bring us something. And I will be very disappointed if tomorrow I don’t feel it,” he adds, winking, and Steve - Steve laughs again, his eyes suddenly wet but not because he’s sad

( _for once_ )

and a moment later Bucky’s moaning out loud because Steve’s just given the both of them a stroke, then two, then three, and then he joins in and fuck it’s _messy_ and they’d have been less messy as teenagers, probably, but they barely had time for it back in the day after all and they just - they just more or less managed to _not_ end up caught in the end of the world, not for now, he’s way beyond embarrassment.

“Come on,” he whispers, “come on, just go for it, I need -”

“I _need_ , too,” Steve almost sobs, crashing their lips together and Bucky swallows it in his mouth as he comes, and it’s been - it’s been so long that for a moment his head spins before pleasure settles in and he looks up at Steve’s blissed face as he leans back to breathe and at his parted mouth and his kiss-swollen lips, and then he realizes that Steve hasn’t come yet and his shoulders are so tense that they’re shaking, and -

“Hey,” he says, “I think - I think you _really_ need to relax a bit.”

“I can’t,” Steve says, “I can’t, because what if it had gone wrong, _what if_ -”

“Hey. _Stop_. I’m not dead. And actually, I think you deserved some thanks for it.”

“I - I - what?”

Bucky smirks and flips them over, moving on top of Steve and feeling thankful he _has_ come already, at least he won’t have to worry about _that_ now, and leans back for a moment - Steve’s hard, _very_ much so, and given that he hasn’t done this for a hell of a long time he doubts Steve can expect finesse here, but honestly, since _when_ they cared for that.

“Steve?”

“Yeah?”

“As much as it was goddamned reckless and idiotic on your part, _as usual_ , when I’m involved, or when _anything_ is, I fear, I should probably thank you for having gone for it and not letting me stay dead for longer than twenty minutes.”

“Well,” Steve snorts, “last time, I let you stay dead for seventy years. I wasn’t making that same mistake again.”

“And, I think you should just lie back and let me _thank you_ properly,” he smiles, and then he leans down and takes Steve’s cock in his mouth, and he has a feeling that everyone nearby heard them considering how _loud_ Steve moans when he does it, and he can’t really take him _all_ also because, as stated, he hasn’t done it in a hell of a long time and he’s out of practice and Steve’s hard already, but he manages enough that he has his mouth full - he reaches up, stroking the upper side, feeling Steve’s get _harder_ into his mouth as he runs his tongue along the head and sucks, once, twice, going slow because he doesn’t want it to be over _too_ soon even if it will be, there’s no way he can make this last. He does manage to drag it on for a bit, Steve’s hands grasping at his hair and tugging and his fingers running across his scalp and the back of his head, and fuck if he hadn’t missed it, he _had,_ so much it aches, and when he feels Steve go rigid under him and he tugs harder at his hair, he doesn’t move - he merely leans back slightly as Steve comes inside his mouth, and he comes _hard_ , of course he does, and he can’t move his head too much because Steve’s hands are keeping him _there_ but it doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter because that’s exactly where he wants to be and so he stays there and swallows what doesn’t end up on his chin, and he grins as he wipes his mouth the moment Steve is completely spent and he can move back, crawling back up on the bed, where Steve grabs his face between his hands again and crashes their mouths together again, even if it turns slower after the first few moments.

“I have better plans than _that_ , by the way,” Bucky smirks, moving back and letting his own fingertips run through Steve’s hair all over again - it’s damp, and they both need a wash, but - not now. It can wait.

“Good,” Steve says, “good. But - you should call -”

“I should call Bruce, yes. I think anyone else would rather not know.”

“Yeah, fair, but - maybe wait a bit?”

“Hey, we do have some time. Why, you need to catch your breath? I’m still older than you.”

“No,” Steve smiles, “I don’t, but I need a minute. I think. Just -” He reaches up, his hands cupping Bucky’s face again.

Right. He thinks he gets it.

“Sure,” he says. “Sure, whenever you like. I think that since _you_ were about to let ancient magic burn you alive to save us all, I can give you even _ten_ minutes, punk.”

“How _charitable_ of you,” Steve laughs, and then they’re kissing again as sunlight warms the both of them - it was raining before, hard, but it’s not anymore -, and Bucky decides that for _now_ he’s not going to think about how it’s not _over_ yet and he’s going to concentrate on _finally_ having enough time for the both of them to start getting caught up with each other for good.

Fine, they’d need years for _that_ , but if they get through this damned end of the world, maybe they _will_ finally have them, and suddenly he thinks -

“Hey,” he says, “you said you wanted to quit?”

“What if I do?”

“I think maybe I could quit along with you,” Bucky grins, and Steve grins back while a few tears spill out of his eyes and he kisses him _again_ and -

Yeah. Yeah, all right. If fighting off the end of the world means they do get to _quit_ together, Bucky’s down with any damned plan that gets Thanos off their backs.

“Please, do _quit_ along with me. There’s nothing else I could want,” Steve says against his mouth.

“Believe me,” Bucky replies, meaning it entirely, “there’s - there’s nothing else I could want, either.”

And it’s true.

There really, _really_ isn’t.

 

 

End.


End file.
